System and methods of de-centralized content collection, distribution, and control

ABSTRACT

A content distribution system configured to store first and second creator content generated respectively by first and second creators, receive first and second rules generated separately by the first and second creator, respectively, the first rules governing requirements for consumers to access the first content, the second rules governing requirements for consumers to access the second content, the first and second rules requiring that a potential consumer must be a member of the respective creator&#39;s group, the first rules further requiring that the potential consumer must pay to receive access to the first content, receive a content request from a first-third party system from a first consumer requesting access to the first content, confirm that the first user qualifies to receive access and that the first third-party system is permitted, and provide access to the first content.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/915,503 filed Oct. 15, 2019 and entitled “AudioEnhanced Geo-Tagging,” which is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION(S)

Embodiments discussed herein related generally to collecting,controlling, and distributing digital content from multiple digitalcontent creators to digital content consumers.

SUMMARY

An example method comprises receiving, by a content distribution system,a first request to store first creator content generated by a firstcontent creator of a plurality of content creators, the first request tostore the first creator content including a first content creatoridentifier, and one or more first categorical identifiers associatedwith the first content creator content, storing by the contentdistribution system the first creator content within a data store,receiving by the content distribution system first rules by the firstcontent creator that govern access to the first creator content, thefirst rules including a requirement that for any particular consumer tohave access to the first creator content, that particular consumer mustbe a member of a first content creator group, must have paid a fee to bea member of the first content creator group, and be within a firstparticular geographic area, the first rules further allowing access tothe first creator content to requests for content provided by a firstsubset of third-party systems if all the other first rules are met bythe requester, the first subset of third-party systems be independent ofand remote from each other, receiving by the content distribution systema second request to store second creator content generated by a secondcontent creator of the plurality of content creators, the second requestto store second first creator content including a second content creatoridentifier, and one or more second categorical identifiers associatedwith the second content creator content, storing by the contentdistribution system the second creator content within the data store,receiving by the content distribution system second rules by the secondcontent creator that govern access to the second creator content, thesecond rules including a requirement that for any particular consumer tohave access to the second creator content, that particular consumer mustbe a member of a second content creator group, and be within a secondparticular geographic area, the second rules not including a paymentrequirement, the second rules further allowing access to the secondcreator content to request for content provided by a second subset ofthird-party systems if all the other second rules are met by therequester, the second subset of third-party systems be independent ofand remote from each other, the first subset of third-party systems andthe second subset of third-party systems being different from eachother, receiving by the content distribution system a first identifierfrom a first third-party system from a first user and a first requestfor first creator content from the first user, confirming by the contentdistribution system that the first third-party system is a member of thefirst subset of third-party systems, if the first third-party system isnot a member of the first subset of third-party systems, sending, by thecontent distribution system, a denial of the first request, if the firstthird-party system is a member of the first subset of third-partysystems, determining, by the content distribution system, from the firstrequest if the first user meets requirements of the first rulesincluding that the first user, based on the first identifier, is amember of the first content creator group, paid the fee to be a memberof the first content creator group, and is within the first particulargeographic area, if the first user meets the requirements of the firstrules, providing, by the content distribution system, the first creatorcontent requested by the first request to the first user through thefirst third-party system, receiving by the content distribution system asecond identifier from a second third-party system from a second userand a second request for second creator content from the second user,confirming by the content distribution system that the secondthird-party system is a member of the second subset of third-partysystems, if the second third-party system is not a member of the secondsubset of third-party systems, sending, by the content distributionsystem, a denial of the second request, if the second third-party systemis a member of the second subset of third-party systems, determining, bythe content distribution system, from the second request if the seconduser meets requirements of the second rules including that second firstuser, based on the second identifier, is a member of the second contentcreator group and is within the second particular geographic area, andif the second user meets the requirements of the first rules, providing,by the content distribution system, the second creator content requestedby second request to the second user through the second third-partysystem.

In some embodiments, the first rules allowing access to the firstcreator content to requests for content provided by the first subset ofthird-party systems comprises the first rules allowing access to thefirst creator content to requests for content provided by a firstdomain, and wherein confirming by the content distribution system thatthe first third-party system is a member of the first subset ofthird-party systems comprises confirming that the first third-partysystem is a member of the first domain and if the first third-partysystem is not a member of the first domain, sending, by the contentdistribution system to the first third-party system, a denial of thefirst request.

The first particular geographic area may be a country or a venue in someexamples. The first rules may further require a time frame when thefirst user must provide the first request to obtain access for the firstcreator content. In some embodiments, the first rules further comprise aparticular requirement that the first user must provide the firstrequest from a particular venue during a particular time frame foraccess to a subset of first creator content, the subset of the firstcreator content otherwise not being available to other consumers thatcannot meet the particular requirement.

In various embodiments, the method further comprises receiving by thecontent distribution system the second identifier from a thirdthird-party system from the second user and a third request for firstcreator content from the second user, confirming by the contentdistribution system that the third third-party system is a member of thefirst subset of third-party systems, if the third third-party system isnot a member of the first subset of third-party systems, sending, by thecontent distribution system, a denial of the third request, if the thirdthird-party system is a member of the first subset of third-partysystems, determining, by the content distribution system, from the thirdrequest if the second user meets requirements of the first rulesincluding that the third user, based on the third identifier, is amember of the first content creator group, paid the fee to be a memberof the first content creator group, and is within the first particulargeographic area, and if the second user meets the requirements of thefirst rules, providing, by the content distribution system, the firstcreator content requested by third request to the second user throughthe third third-party system.

The method, in some embodiments, may comprise receiving by the contentdistribution system the second identifier from a third third-partysystem from the second user and a third request for general content fromthe second user, confirming by the content distribution system that thethird third-party system is a member of the first subset of third-partysystems and the second subset of third-party systems, determining thatthe second user meets the requirements of the second rules and not thefirst rules, and providing access to the second creator content.

The method may further comprise receiving by the content distributionsystem the second identifier from a third third-party system from thesecond user and a third request for general content from the seconduser, confirming by the content distribution system that the thirdthird-party system is a member of the first subset of third-partysystems and the second subset of third-party systems, determining thatthe second user meets the requirements of the second rules and the firstrules, and providing access to the first creator content and the secondcreator content.

In some embodiments, determining if the first user is within the firstparticular geographic area comprises determining if the firstthird-party system is within the first particular geographic area,based, at least in part, on a first third-party system identifier.

In various embodiments, determining if the first user is within thefirst particular geographic area comprises determining if the firstthird-party system is within the first particular geographic area,based, at least in part, on GPS information from a digital device of thefirst user.

An example non-transitory computer readable medium may includeexecutable instructions. The executable instructions may be executableby a processor for performing a method. The method may comprisereceiving, by a content distribution system, a first request to storefirst creator content generated by a first content creator of aplurality of content creators, the first request to store the firstcreator content including a first content creator identifier, and one ormore first categorical identifiers associated with the first contentcreator content, storing by the content distribution system the firstcreator content within a data store, receiving by the contentdistribution system first rules by the first content creator that governaccess to the first creator content, the first rules including arequirement that for any particular consumer to have access to the firstcreator content, that particular consumer must be a member of a firstcontent creator group, must have paid a fee to be a member of the firstcontent creator group, and be within a first particular geographic area,the first rules further allowing access to the first creator content torequests for content provided by a first subset of third-party systemsif all the other first rules are met by the requester, the first subsetof third-party systems be independent of and remote from each other,receiving by the content distribution system a second request to storesecond creator content generated by a second content creator of theplurality of content creators, the second request to store second firstcreator content including a second content creator identifier, and oneor more second categorical identifiers associated with the secondcontent creator content, storing by the content distribution system thesecond creator content within the data store, receiving by the contentdistribution system second rules by the second content creator thatgovern access to the second creator content, the second rules includinga requirement that for any particular consumer to have access to thesecond creator content, that particular consumer must be a member of asecond content creator group, and be within a second particulargeographic area, the second rules not including a payment requirement,the second rules further allowing access to the second creator contentto request for content provided by a second subset of third-partysystems if all the other second rules are met by the requester, thesecond subset of third-party systems be independent of and remote fromeach other, the first subset of third-party systems and the secondsubset of third-party systems being different from each other, receivingby the content distribution system a first identifier from a firstthird-party system from a first user and a first request for firstcreator content from the first user, confirming by the contentdistribution system that the first third-party system is a member of thefirst subset of third-party systems, if the first third-party system isnot a member of the first subset of third-party systems, sending, by thecontent distribution system, a denial of the first request, if the firstthird-party system is a member of the first subset of third-partysystems, determining, by the content distribution system, from the firstrequest if the first user meets requirements of the first rulesincluding that the first user, based on the first identifier, is amember of the first content creator group, paid the fee to be a memberof the first content creator group, and is within the first particulargeographic area, if the first user meets the requirements of the firstrules, providing, by the content distribution system, the first creatorcontent requested by the first request to the first user through thefirst third-party system, receiving by the content distribution system asecond identifier from a second third-party system from a second userand a second request for second creator content from the second user,confirming by the content distribution system that the secondthird-party system is a member of the second subset of third-partysystems, if the second third-party system is not a member of the secondsubset of third-party systems, sending, by the content distributionsystem, a denial of the second request, if the second third-party systemis a member of the second subset of third-party systems, determining, bythe content distribution system, from the second request if the seconduser meets requirements of the second rules including that second firstuser, based on the second identifier, is a member of the second contentcreator group and is within the second particular geographic area, andif the second user meets the requirements of the first rules, providing,by the content distribution system, the second creator content requestedby second request to the second user through the second third-partysystem.

An example system may comprise at least on processor and memory. Thememory may including instructions to configure the at least on processorto receive a first request to store first creator content generated by afirst content creator of a plurality of content creators, the firstrequest to store the first creator content including a first contentcreator identifier, and one or more first categorical identifiersassociated with the first content creator content, store the firstcreator content within a data store, receive first rules by the firstcontent creator that govern access to the first creator content, thefirst rules including a requirement that for any particular consumer tohave access to the first creator content, that particular consumer mustbe a member of a first content creator group, must have paid a fee to bea member of the first content creator group, and be within a firstparticular geographic area, the first rules further allowing access tothe first creator content to requests for content provided by a firstsubset of third-party systems if all the other first rules are met bythe requester, the first subset of third-party systems be independent ofand remote from each other, receive a second request to store secondcreator content generated by a second content creator of the pluralityof content creators, the second request to store second first creatorcontent including a second content creator identifier, and one or moresecond categorical identifiers associated with the second contentcreator content, store the second creator content within the data store,receive second rules by the second content creator that govern access tothe second creator content, the second rules including a requirementthat for any particular consumer to have access to the second creatorcontent, that particular consumer must be a member of a second contentcreator group, and be within a second particular geographic area, thesecond rules not including a payment requirement, the second rulesfurther allowing access to the second creator content to request forcontent provided by a second subset of third-party systems if all theother second rules are met by the requester, the second subset ofthird-party systems be independent of and remote from each other, thefirst subset of third-party systems and the second subset of third-partysystems being different from each other, receive a first identifier froma first third-party system from a first user and a first request forfirst creator content from the first user, confirm that the firstthird-party system is a member of the first subset of third-partysystems, if the first third-party system is not a member of the firstsubset of third-party systems, send a denial of the first request, ifthe first third-party system is a member of the first subset ofthird-party systems, determine from the first request if the first usermeets requirements of the first rules including that the first user,based on the first identifier, is a member of the first content creatorgroup, paid the fee to be a member of the first content creator group,and is within the first particular geographic area, if the first usermeets the requirements of the first rules, provide the first creatorcontent requested by the first request to the first user through thefirst third-party system, receive a second identifier from a secondthird-party system from a second user and a second request for secondcreator content from the second user, confirm that the secondthird-party system is a member of the second subset of third-partysystems, if the second third-party system is not a member of the secondsubset of third-party systems, send a denial of the second request, ifthe second third-party system is a member of the second subset ofthird-party systems, determine from the second request if the seconduser meets requirements of the second rules including that second firstuser, based on the second identifier, is a member of the second contentcreator group and is within the second particular geographic area, andif the second user meets the requirements of the first rules, provide,the second creator content requested by second request to the seconduser through the second third-party system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of an example environment capable ofcollecting, controlling, and distributing digital content over anynumber of networks.

FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of an example content distribution systemaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 3 depicts a flow chart of a method of uploading digital contentaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 4 depicts a flow chart of a method of retrieving of contentconsumer reports according to some embodiments.

FIG. 5 depicts a flow chart of a method of retrieving a content consumerreport according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6 depicts a flow chart of retrieval of content consumer report overmultiple content creators according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7 depicts a flow chart of identifying distribution entries whichare accessible to a third-party system according to some embodiments.

FIG. 8 depicts an example of a content consumer reporting provided bythe content distribution system according to some embodiments.

FIG. 9 depicts an example of a map showing real-time locations ofconsumer consumption from a particular content creator according to someembodiments.

FIG. 10 depicts a block diagram of an example computing device accordingto some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Content creators work hard to create digital content. For example,content creators may create digital content such as digital music,digital images, digital videos, virtual reality, and augmented reality.To increase the viewership of the created digital content and reach moreconsumers, content creators may upload their content onto many differentwebsites and content consumer domains. An issue associated withuploading content to many different websites and content consumerdomains is that each of these websites and domains controls access ofthe visiting consumer (e.g., the website or domain may control access ofthe consumer to the content and/or the content creator). Furthermore,different websites and different domains may choose to presentadvertisements from third-party brands to content consumers withoutreimbursing the content creators who brought consumers to the websitesand domains.

For example, musicians may choose to upload a music video or music oftheir latest track onto websites and content consumer domains such asYouTube.com, Facebook.com, Apple iTunes, and Google Play Store. Thesewebsites and domains may require content consumers or users to registerwith the website or domain before they can access the music in variousformats. These websites may capitalize on musicians and users who viewedor listened to music. For example, Facebook may present advertisementsfrom a third-party to users who viewed or listened to the music from themusic artist without having to reimburse the music artist. In anotherexample, YouTube may charge musicians a fee for information regardingusers who accessed or viewed their videos, such as the number of uniqueviewers per hour over a period of time, or demographics of the users whoaccessed or viewed their videos.

In various embodiments, a content distribution system collects digitalcontent from multiple content creators and controls/distributes thedigital content to content consumers. Different content creators mayencrypt and store digital content on the content distribution system.The content distribution system may distribute the digital contentaccording to the distribution properties provided by the contentcreator. Distribution properties may include specifying the groups ofcontent consumers that have access to a particular digital content, whenthe particular digital content will be made available, and for how long.In various embodiments, the content creator determines that only userswho have a premium membership to a creator's fan club may access theparticular digital content (e.g., the content creator may require thatdifferent websites confirm that the consumer is a member of thecreator's fan club). In various embodiments, the content creatordetermines a particular video may only be accessible when users are in aparticular geographic location at a particular time (e.g., the rulesenforcing the ability to access the creator's content may be enforcedregardless of where the user navigated to consume the content).

In some embodiments, content creators may also be content consumers. Thecontent creator may provide and specify digital content properties fordifferent digital content to facilitate the search and furtherdistribution of the digital content. The digital content properties mayinclude the name of digital content, length of digital content,keywords, a geographic location associated with the digital content, andthe name of the content creator associated with the digital content.

A user may make a request for digital content. The request may include,for example, the name of the content creator, date digital content wascreated, geographic location, and the like. The content distributionsystem may retrieve digital content based on the search request andprovide the content back to the requesting web page for display as apart of the web page. In some examples, a user, registered andauthenticated by the content distribution system, may send a request tothe content distribution system to retrieve a particular digitalcontent. In various embodiments, the content distribution system mayonly retrieve the particular content when the user is at a specificgeographic location. In some embodiments, the content distributionsystem may only retrieve the particular content if the user sends therequest at a specific time.

For each access of digital content from the content distribution system,the content distribution system may create a distribution entry for thedigital content. The distribution entry for may include information fromthe user who accessed the digital content such as name, demographicsdata, the location, a duration of time the content is consumed, and thenumber of times the user has consumed the first digital content. In someembodiments, distribution entry includes names of one or morethird-party systems that may have access to the distribution entry.Distribution entries may be stored in the content distribution systemand may only be accessed by the content creator who uploaded the digitalcontent associated with the distribution entry. In various embodiments,the content creator may give permission to other content creators orthird-party systems to access to some or all of their distributionentries.

In some embodiments, a user may associate a review with the digitalcontent accessed from the content distribution system. One article oritem of digital content may be associated with multiple reviews.However, one review may be associated with one digital content. In someembodiments, reviews may be categorized based on a type of subscriptionof the content consumer. In some embodiments, the content distributionsystem may have different types of subscriptions available to thecontent consumer for all content creators of the content distributionsystem.

The content distribution system may require content consumers tosubscribe to different types of subscriptions for a particular contentcreator. In some embodiments, the content distribution system may onlyallow content consumers who subscribe to a premium subscription for aparticular content creator to have access to premium digital content.For example, a review of a digital content submitted by a contentconsumer with a premium subscription may be given higher priority thananother review of the same digital content submitted by another contentconsumer with a regular subscription. In some examples, a review may bein the form of text, audio, digital image, digital video, or somecombination thereof. In various embodiments, reviews may be in the forma “thumbs up” or a “thumbs down” to represent a like or dislike of thedigital content. In some embodiments, reviews may be in the form of oneor more hearts.

In some embodiments, the content distribution system may retrieve aprofile page of a user of the content distribution system. The user ofthe content distribution system may be a content creator or contentconsumer. The profile page may include contact information for the user,any number of links to other content creators, and/or content consumerswho are socially connected to the particular content creator or contentconsumer.

A content consumer report may be generated periodically or on-demand. Insome embodiments, the content consumer report may be generated hourly,daily, weekly, or monthly. The content consumer report may be generatedin real-time, reflecting information accurately at or near the moment ofcreation. The content consumer report may be generated to reflectcontent consumption data of one or more digital content from the samecontent creator. In some embodiments, the content consumer report may begenerated to reflect a change in the number of unique users who accesseddigital content created by the content creator over a period of time. Invarious embodiments, the content consumer report may be generated tooutput the number of users subscribed to one or more user groupsadministered by a particular content creator.

In some embodiments, the content distribution system may generate acontent consumer report from more than one content creator. In oneembodiment, the content consumer report may be generated when one ormore consumer content reaches a particular number of content consumerreport entries. For example, a content consumer report may be generatedwhen a particular digital content reaches one million requests fromusers of the content distribution system. In various embodiments, thecontent distribution system may generate a content consumer report fordigital content consumed in a particular geographic area during aparticular time frame. For example, the content distribution system maygenerate a content consumer report by users attending a music festivalto determine the most popular songs or artists requested by the usersattending the music festival.

In some embodiments, the content distribution system may generate anavigational report that tracks a navigational path between a particulardigital content to subsequent digital content. Any of theabove-referenced reports may be reported in real-time. A content creatormay generate one of the above-referenced content consumer reports andmay be given a choice to view real-time changes in the consumption ofdigital content of interest to the content creator.

In some embodiments, a website provides or otherwise generates a webpage with a section of embedded code. The embedded code, initiallyprovided by a content distribution system, may generate a section (e.g.,a portion) of the web page. The section of the web page may beintegrated into the web page such that the entire web page, includingcontent from the generated section, appears to be from the same source.The embedded code, however, may provide a request for digital contentfrom the content distribution system while the rest of the content ofthe web page is provided by an owner or operator of the web page.

In various embodiments, the digital content displayed in a userinterface may appear to be a part of the web page, web site, orapplication (e.g., from the owner or operator of the web page, web site,or application). It will be appreciated that the content distributionsystem may enable the delivery of digital content such that it appearsto be coming from the web page, web site, or application, therebykeeping customers and/or viewers of the user interface to be engagedwith the original domain (e.g., the web page, web site, or application).

Different websites and/or different applications may retrieve and storedigital content to a centralized system that collects, stores, anddistributes digital content based on the criteria of the request (e.g.,the user making the request, timeline, location, and/or otherinformation). As a result, a centralized system, such as a contentdistribution system, may provide content to multiple different web pagesand applications. The different web pages and applications may presentdigital content from the content distribution system as if the digitalcontent was being provided by the entity that owns or operates the webpages or applications.

Further, it will be appreciated that the content distribution system mayreceive digital content from different content creators. The digitalcontent from different content creators may be provided to a group ofdifferent web pages, web sites, and/or applications. As a result,digital content generated from one or more content creators may beleveraged by different sites. In some embodiments, a content creator mayenable their digital content to be stored in the content distributionsystem. In one embodiment, the content creator may make selections toenable their digital content to be provided to a group or subset of webpages, web sites, and/or applications such that their digital contentappears to be a part of the web page, web site, or application (e.g.,from the owner or operator of the web page, web site, or application).In various embodiments, the user is a content consumer, a contentcreator, or both. Each of the digital content may provide a link to thecontent creator who created or submitted the respective digital content.

It will be appreciated the digital content may include any type ofdigital media, including, but not limited to, pictures, text, video,sound, graphics, icons, interactive programming, or any combination ofthe above.

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of an example environment 100 capable ofcollecting and providing digital content and reviews associated withdigital content. In this example, the environment 100 includes a firstconsumer system 104A, a second consumer system 104N (individually, theconsumer system 104 collectively), a communication network 110, acontent distribution system 102, a first content creation system 106A, asecond content creation system 106N (individually, the content creationsystem 106 collectively), a first third-party system 108A, and a secondthird-party system 108N (individually, the third-party system 108collectively). The first and second consumer systems 104A and 104N, thefirst and second content creation systems 106A and 106N, and the firstand second third-party systems 108A and 108N may each be or include anynumber of digital devices. A digital device is any device with aprocessor and memory. Digital devices are further discussed herein(e.g., see FIG. 10).

In some embodiments, the first and second consumer systems 104A and 104Nmay facilitate communication between users and other associated systems.In some embodiments, one or both of the first and second consumersystems 104A and 104N may be or include one or more mobile devices(e.g., smartphones, cell phones, smartwatches, tablet computer, or thelike), desktop computers, laptop computers, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the communication network 110 represents one ormore computer networks (e.g., LANs, WANs, and/or the like). Thecommunication network 110 may provide communication between any of thefirst and second consumer systems 104A and 104N, the first and secondcontent creation systems 106A and 106N, and the first and secondthird-party systems 114 and 116. In some implementations, thecommunication network 110 comprises computer devices, routers, cables,uses, and/or other network topologies. In some embodiments, thecommunication network 110 may be wired and/or wireless. In variousembodiments, the communication network 110 may comprise the Internet,one or more networks that may be public, private, IP-based, non-IPbased, and so forth.

In some embodiments, users may interact with any one of the firstconsumer system 104A, the second consumer system 104N, the first contentcreation system 106A, and the second content creation system 106N. Forexample, a web browser or mobile application to communicate with otherusers, access web pages, and/or interact with applications on their owndevices to generate or receive digital content from the contentdistribution system 102.

In some embodiments, the content distribution system 102 provides asystem to allow a user to register and authenticate the user's login andpassword. During the registration process, the user may provide theircontact information to the content distribution system 102. After theuser has been registered and authenticated, the content distributionsystem 102 outputs to a user interface different types of subscriptionsavailable to the user. The different types of subscriptions may includea premium (fee-based) subscription or a regular (free) subscription. Invarious embodiments, other types of subscriptions may be available. Thecontent distribution system 102 may output a questionnaire to determineuser groups or content creators, which may be of interest to the user.The user of the first consumer system 104A or the second consumer system104N may create an account on the content distribution system 102. Theuser

In some embodiments, the content distribution system 102 provides asearch interface to receive input from the user (e.g., either from theuser navigating with a web browser to one or more websites or using anapplication). In response to the user interacting with the searchinterface, the content distribution system 102 receives a request tocreate a search query based on one or more search criteria. The resultof the search query is a search result that may be based, at least inpart, on information provided in the search request. The user mayinteract (e.g., click) with one or more elements in the search results.The search interface may allow the user to search for digital content,reviews associated with digital content, content creators, or contentconsumers.

For example, the search results may include multiple digital contentsthat fit the user's search criteria. By selecting one or more of themultiple digital contents of the search results, more detailedinformation regarding a particular digital content may be depicted. Forexample, a user may create a search query to search for the latest songsfrom Pitbull. The content distribution system 102 may receive the searchquery and provide, within a user interface, related digital content(e.g., audio and/or video from the artist Pitbull).

In some embodiments, the content distribution system 102 allows the userto sort search results by several search criteria. Search criteria mayinclude, for example, the name or the date of publication of the digitalcontent, a percentage of the relevancy of the digital content to theuser's search query, and the popularity of the digital content. Thepopularity of the digital content stored on the content distributionsystem 102 may be based on the number of times the digital content waspreviously accessed by other users of the content distribution system102. The user may interact with (e.g., select) one of the multipledigital contents in the search results to find out more detailedinformation about it, such as the name of the album the song is from,information about the song such as the source of inspiration for thesong, reviews of the song provided by other users of the contentdistribution system 102, and the current ranking of the song on varioustrack ranking charts.

In various embodiments, the search results may include a list ofinformation identifying content creators that fit the user's searchcriteria. By selecting one or more of the search results, the contentdistribution system 102 may provide a profile page of a particularcontent creator. The user may interact with the profile page of theparticular content creator to obtain more information about the mostrecent digital content created by the particular content creator,upcoming events hosted by the particular content creator, and the like.

In some embodiments, the profile page includes ways of getting incontact with the particular content creator. The user may request asocial connection with the particular content creator and view profilepages of other users (e.g., content creators or content consumers) whoare socially connected with the particular content creator. Once acontent creator is added to a user's social network, the contentdistribution system 102 may provide notification to the content creatorof a new social connection. In some embodiments, the user is a contentconsumer, or a content creator, or both.

In some embodiments, the content distribution system 102 filters andorganizes digital content and their associated reviews according to oneor more filter criteria, including review properties, which may includetags, the time stamp of the review, user identification of the personwho left the review, type of review, and/or others. In some embodiments,reviews may be categorized based on the type of subscription of thecontent consumer leaving the review. For example, the contentdistribution system may have different types of subscriptions associatedwith one or more content creators of the content distribution system.Other filtering criteria could include but are not limited to, thedigital content properties such as name of digital content, geographiclocation associated with the digital content, the time digital wasloaded into the content distribution system, and/or keywords.

In various embodiments, the content distribution system may display theoutput of the search query in the form of a map, such as a contentconsumer report 800 of FIG. 7, a map 900 of FIG. 9, and/or otherelectronic forms. The user may interact with one or more elements in thesearch results, and the embedded code of the web page may provide adigital content and/or a review associated with the digital content,including digital content properties and/or review properties.

The user may provide a review of a digital content. Multiple reviews maybe associated with the same digital content. In some embodiments, eachreview is associated with one digital content. In some embodiments, thecontent consumer may provide a review of a content creator. The contentdistribution system 102 may receive, from a content consumer, a requestto store a review of the digital content. The content distributionsystem 102 may store the review of the digital content into a digitalcontent datastore. Once the review is stored in the digital contentdatastore, the content distribution system 102 may provide notificationof a new review to the content creator of the digital content associatedwith the new review. The review of the digital content may be linked orassociated with the user (e.g., a user ID), time at which the review wasuploaded to the content distribution system 102 (e.g., by timestamp),location information (e.g., map locations or coordinates), and/or thelike.

In one embodiment, users of the content distribution system 102 mayreply or interact with reviews left by other users. For example, a usermay provide a review of digital content created by a content creator;another user may respond to the review. The other user may provideanother review of the digital content. The content creator may respondto the reviews to provide social interaction between content creatorsand content consumers. In some embodiments, the content distributionsystem 102 may notify the user of the response to the review. In variousembodiments, the content distribution system 102 notifies the contentcreator of each review or response to a review of digital contentassociated with the content creator. A notification of a new review orresponse to a review may be done in real-time or substantially inreal-time. In some embodiments, the content creator may request that thenotification be summarized or in a notification report (e.g., either orboth may be provided by the content distribution system 102) that issent to the content creator or a representative of the content creatorperiodically, such that new reviews or responses to a previouslysubmitted review are sent to the content creator every week. Thenotification may be in the form of an email or a text message.

In some embodiments, the review may be in the form of a “thumbs up” or a“thumbs down” to represent a like or dislike of the digital content. Forexample, if the content consumer gives a particular digital content a“thumbs down,” the content distribution system 102 may skip theremaining digital content and add the particular digital content onto alist of digital content to avoid loading in the future. Furthermore, thecontent distribution system 102 may use artificial intelligence or alearning algorithm to predict digital content that the user may enjoylistening to based on the historical “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” ofpreviously loaded digital content or answers to the questionnaireprovided by the content distribution system 102 during the registrationprocess. The content distribution system 102 may utilize properties ofthe digital content, such as artists, the genre of the digital content,rhythm, beat, etc., to predict subsequent digital content to present tothe user.

The content distribution system 102 may generate a report that tracks oridentifies a navigational path between a particular digital content tosubsequent digital content. For example, a user may navigate from theparticular digital content from a profile page of content creator A to aprofile page of content creator B (which is part of the social networkof the content creator A) and then to a profile page of content creatorC (which is part of the social network of the content creator B). Thecontent distribution system may generate a navigational reportdocumenting the path from content creator A to content creator B andthen to content creator C. The navigational report may includenavigational statistics over a period of time; these navigationalstatistics may be useful for content creators to determine contentcreator connections, which provided the most number of visits fromusers, or which of the content creators in the particular contentcreator's social network are most popular.

The content distribution system 102 may include digital content from anynumber of content creators, including, but not limited to, the firstcontent creation system 106A and the second content creation system106N. The content distribution system 102 may receive a request from thefirst content creation system 106A to upload digital content to thecontent distribution system 102. The content distribution system 102 mayencrypt the digital content before storing the encrypted digitalcontent. The encryption of the digital content ensures that digitalcontent can only be played when accessed by users of the contentdistribution system 102. Any number of websites or applications mayrequest information from the content distribution system 102 and, basedon the criteria (e.g., the domain of the website), the contentdistribution system 102 may select and/or filter any amount ofpreviously-stored digital content and provide the digital content backto the requesting website or application.

The content distribution system 102 may include reviews for any of thedigital content stored in the content distribution system 102 from anynumber of users. Any number of websites or applications may requestreviews associated with digital content from the content distributionsystem 102. Based on the criteria (e.g., the domain of the website), thecontent distribution system 102 may select and/or filter any amount ofpreviously-stored reviews associated with one or more digital contentand provide the digital content back to the requesting website orapplication.

A content consumer report may be generated by the content distributionsystem 102 periodically and/or on-demand. The content consumer reportmay be generated to reflect content consumption data of one or moredigital content from the same content creator. In some embodiments, thecontent distribution system may generate a content consumer report frommore than one content creator. The content consumer report may begenerated hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly. In one embodiment, thecontent consumer report may be generated when one or more consumercontent reaches a particular number of content consumer report entries.For example, a content consumer report may be generated when aparticular digital content reaches one million requests from users ofthe content distribution system. In various embodiments, the contentdistribution system may generate a content consumer report for digitalcontent consumed in a particular geographic area during a particulartime frame.

The content distribution system 102 may receive a request, from thecontent creator or a representative of the content creator, for thecontent consumer report from the content creator. The contentdistribution system 102 may provide the content creator access toinformation regarding content consumers. The request may include contentconsumer report properties, including a time range of digital content orreview associated with a particular digital content uploaded to thecontent distribution system 102, and/or the number of times theparticular digital content has been accessed by users of the contentdistribution system 102. For example, the content creator may utilizethis information to determine how popular their digital content is, ageographic location of content consumers who accessed digital contentcreated by the content creator, the demographics of content consumers,and the like. The content distribution system 102 may send the contentconsumer report to the content creator in the form of a spreadsheet, achart, a graph, a map, such as a map 900 of FIG. 9, and the like. Insome embodiments, the content distribution system 102 may output thecontent consumer report in a user interface, an email, or in a softwareapplication accessible on a web site or a mobile device.

The content distribution system 102 may receive a request for a contentconsumer report of consumed digital content created by multiple contentcreators of the content distribution system 102. The request may includecontent consumer report properties, including a time range of digitalcontent or review associated with a particular digital content uploadedto the content distribution system 102, and/or a number of times theparticular digital content has been accessed by users of the contentdistribution system 102. The request may be received from the firstthird-party system 108A or the second third-party system 108N. Forexample, the first third-party system 108A may send a request to thecontent distribution system 102 for at least a portion of the contentconsumer report of consumed digital content, the consumed digitalcontent created by a first content creator, and/or a second contentcreator. In some embodiments, the content distribution system 102 mayrequest permission from the first content creator of the first contentcreation system 106A and the second content creator of the secondcontent creation system 106N before the first third-party system 108Amay search a portion of the content consumer report of digital contentcreated by the content creators. The first third-party system 108A, mayuse the content consumer report to determine a specific digital contentor a particular content creator that is most popular with a certain agegroup. In various embodiments, the content consumer report identifiesthe most popular hashtag or keyword from one or more content creatorsover a period of time.

The first third-party system 108A and the second third-party system 108Nmay represent a product or brand that is not related to the multiplecontent creators of the first consumer system 104A and the secondconsumer system 104N. For example, the first third-party system 108A,represents a brand of alcohol or a marketing team looking for aspokesperson for the latest sneaker. The first third-party system 108Amay send a request to the content distribution system 102 for a contentconsumer report requesting a report for the content creator of thecontent distribution system 102, which is most popular with peoplebetween the ages of 21 to 30.

FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of an example content distribution system102 according to some embodiments. The content distribution system 102includes a communication module 202, a registration module 204, anauthentication module 206, a search module 208, an access control module210, a content distribution module 212, an encryption module 214, asharing module 216, a navigational path module 218, a digital contentdatastore 220, and a distribution datastore 222.

In some embodiments, the communication module 202 sends and receivesdata and requests between any one of the modules or datastore of thecontent distribution system 102 to another of the modules or datastoreof the content distribution system 102. In one embodiment, thecommunication module 202 sends and receive data and request between anyof the modules or datastore of the content distribution system 102 andany of the systems of the environment 100 of FIG. 1.

In some embodiments, the registration module 204 may be configured tocreate accounts for users. The registration module 204 may be configuredto update account information for users and users. When a new userregisters, a user identifier (e.g., a login identifier) and password maybe required. In some embodiments, users may be content consumers, orcontent creators, or both. In various embodiments, users may representthird-party systems such as the first third-party system 108A.

In various embodiments, the registration module 204 register accountsfor users may include user identification information. Users may becontent consumers and/or content creators. User identification for bothcontent consumers and content creators may include an email address,password, and phone number. Content consumers may have useridentification information that is different from content creators. Forexample, user identification information for a content consumer mayinclude, for example, demographic information, content creators that theuser has subscribed to, type of subscription the user has subscribed to.The demographic information may include age, sex, residential zip code,marital status, and/or household income. User identification informationfor content creators may include a preferred method of notification(e.g., preferred by a content creator), a number of user groupsassociated with the content creator, types of subscriptions available,and which user group(s) are associated with the different types ofsubscriptions.

In some embodiments, a user who is a content consumer may be required toregister to access the digital content stored in the contentdistribution system 102 or to create a review associated with thedigital content stored in the content distribution system 102. Invarious embodiments, a user who is a content creator is required toregister in order to encrypt, store, and/or upload digital content intothe content distribution system 102. In some embodiments, a registeredcontent creator can only access reviews associated with their digitalcontent (e.g., the digital content created by the registered contentcreator). In various embodiments, a registered content creator can onlyaccess a content consumer report, which includes distribution entriesassociated with digital content uploaded by the registered contentcreator.

In some embodiments, the user represents the first third-party system108A or the second third-party system 108N. The registration module 204may require the user to register to request a content consumer report.

In some embodiments, the authentication module 206 authenticates auser's login and password. The login and password may be associated withthe user's account. The authentication module 206 may authenticate auser by comparing the user's login and password with a database ofregistered users. It will be appreciated that users may be authenticatedin many ways, including, but not limited to, device identifiers,biometrics, encryption keys, cookies, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the search module 208 receives a request to searchfor digital content, a review of digital content, or a content creator.The search module 208 may create a search query based on one or moresearch criteria. The result of the search query is a search result thatmay be based, at least in part, on information provided in the searchquery. The search module 208 filter and organize the search resultsaccording to one or more filter criteria, including the digital contentproperties. The digital content properties may include content, lengthof digital content, keywords, a geographic location associated with thedigital content, and the name of the content creator associated with thedigital content. The search module 208 may output the results of thesearch query in the form of a map, a list, or in some other electronicforms. The user may interact with one or more elements in the searchresults; the search module may send a request to the access controlmodule 210.

In some embodiments, the access control module 210 determines whether ornot a user can access a requested digital content based on at least onedistribution property. Distribution properties may include, for example,the user groups that have access to a particular digital content whenthe particular digital content will be made available and for how long.In some embodiments, the access control module 210 requires that onlyusers in a particular geographic location during a particular time framemay access the requested digital content (e.g., those users present at avenue during a concert associated with the creator of the digitalcontent).

The access control module 210 includes multiple rules provided by eachcontent creator. Each content creator's rules may govern various aspectsof access and distribution for that content creator's content. The rulesmay include consumer rules, access rules, tracking rules, and contentrules. Consumer rules manage requirements that have to be satisfiedbefore a user may access digital content. Access rules determine where arequest for digital content or distribution entries associated withdigital content comes from and include notification requirements.Tracking rules log information of interest or importance to a contentcreator. Content rules govern which digital content is accessible ornot, and by whom.

In some embodiments, consumer rules may govern requirements that have tobe satisfied before users access digital content. For example, beforeaccessing any digital content, a user may be required to provide a validor registered login and password. In some embodiments, a content creatormay need users to have a membership before accessing one or more digitalcontent from the content creator. In some embodiments, consumer rulesmay require the user to pay a premium before making the user's digitalcontent accessible. Some consumer rules may require the user to be atparticular geographic locations or vicinity to the specific geographiclocation to access specific digital content. For example, the contentcreator may send a notification of a concert at a venue, contentconsumers interested in a preview of the concert, or accessingbehind-the-scenes video of the concert may only be able to access thisif the content distribution system determines that the user is currentlywithin 100 meters of the venue. Other consumer rules may only makecertain digital content accessible at a particular time frame or onlyafter a specific time and date. For example, Pitbull's latest song mayonly be accessed by users of the content distribution system after thesong has dropped. In some embodiments, content creators may only makecertain digital content available to “super fans” or users who haveaccessed or consumed a predetermined number of digital content by thesame content creator, or users with a particular type of membership.

Access rules may determine where a request for digital content ordistribution entries associated with digital content comes from. Forexample, a content creator may specify one or more third-party systemsthat may have access to some or all of the digital creator'sdistribution entries. Access rules may block other third-party systemsfrom accessing distribution entries associated with the digital creator.In some embodiments, the content creator may block some users from someor all of the content creator's digital content. In various embodiments,the content creator may block some users from submitting a reviewassociated with the content creator's digital content. For example, achildren's music band may not wish to have their distribution entriesaccessible by a third-party system such as a company that providesvaping products.

Tracking rules include logs information of interest or importance to acontent creator. For example, a content creator, such as Lady Gaga, maywish to know the number of unique users who accessed her latest songusing the content distribution system every day since the song wasreleased. The content creator may create a rule which requires that thecontent distribution system send a daily notification of the number ofunique users who accessed her latest song in the past 24 hour period. Insome embodiments, tracking rules may track or log when users who matchparticular requirements access digital content associated with thecontent creator. For example, a content creator may want to track, andbe notified, of the number of users between the ages of 18-24 who livein the Atlanta area who accessed digital content associated with thecontent creator. Tracking rules may also include notificationrequirements, such as a notification frequency and the mode ofnotification of information associated with the tracking rule.

Content rules which govern which digital content is accessible or not,and by whom. For example, Pitbull's latest song includes explicit lyricsso that particular digital content may only be available to users whoare 18 years or older. Suppose the content distribution systemdetermines that the user trying to access Pitbull's latest song isyounger than 18. In that case, the content distribution system mayprovide another version of the song without the explicit lyrics.

Other rules may govern the type of advertisements allowed around orwithin their digital content. For example, a children's music group mayhave rules which specify that advertisements associated with alcohol,medications, and vaping not be broadcasted or displayed in associationwith their digital content.

The geographic location of the user may be provided by third-partysystem, a Wi-Fi system associated with a particular area or venue, GPScoordinates provided by or through the user's digital device, cookies,internet service provider, or the like. In some embodiments, the venuemay provide a code or other information to the user that the user mayprovide to the content distribution system 102 (e.g., within a request)to confirm their location or presence.

In various embodiments, the content creator determines that only userswho have a premium membership may access the particular digital content.For example, if the access control module 210 determines that one userdoes not have the type of subscription that a digital content requires,the content distribution system 102 may provide a sample or a portion ofthe digital content. After providing the sample or the portion of thedigital content, the content distribution system 102 may provide anotice and/or populate a user interface that notifies the user that adifferent type of subscription is required before the contentdistribution system 102 will continue outputting the first digitalcontent. The content distribution system 102 may provide a subscriptioninterface that allows the user to subscribe to the type of subscriptionrequired to allow the content distribution system 102 to continueoutputting the digital content. If the access control module 210determines that the user can access the requested digital content, theaccess control module 210 may send a request to the digital contentdatastore 220 to output the requested digital content to the user.

In some embodiments, the access control module 210 determines whether ornot a user can access a user group created by a content creator. Whenthe content creator encrypts and stores another digital content, thecontent creator may specify the user group(s) that can access the otherdigital content.

It will be appreciated that the content creator that defines the rulesand requirement for access to the digital work. As a result, in someembodiments, it is the content creator, not the distributor or websitethat provides access to the digital work, that controls access, receiveslogin requests, and/or tracks consumption in real time.

In response to the user receiving the requested digital content, thecontent distribution module 212 creates a distribution entry for therequested digital content. Each distribution entry may includedistribution entry properties. In some embodiments, distribution entryproperty may include content consumer identification, content creatoridentification, domain identifier, duration of time the content consumerconsumed the digital content, age, and other demographic information ofthe content consumer. The content distribution module 212 may createmultiple distribution entries for the same digital content. In someembodiments, each distribution entry is associated with each access todigital content. In various embodiments, a distribution entry isassociated with multiple digital contents. In one embodiment, onedistribution entry is associated with particular digital content, withaggregated distribution entry properties. In some embodiments, aggregatedistribution properties include a tally of demographic information ofcontent consumers who accessed the particular content. The demographicinformation may include age, sex, residential zip code, marital status,and household income. The distribution entries created by the contentdistribution module 212 are stored in the distribution datastore 222.

In some embodiments, the content distribution module 212 generates acontent consumer report. The content consumer report may be requested bya content creator or a representative of the third-party system. Thecontent creator may send a request to the content distribution module212 to generate the content consumer report. The content distributionmodule 212 searches distribution entries in the distribution datastore222 to generate the requested content consumer report based on searchcriteria provided by the content creator or representative of thethird-party system.

In one example, the content creator commands the content distributionmodule 212 to provide a report regarding those consumers that consumethe content creator's digital work. The content creator may controlaccess and dictate rules for consumption of their data. Further, accessinformation (e.g., user identifiers, successful logins, unsuccessfullogins, time of day of access, location of access, what digital mediawas consumed, when the digital music was consume, data analytics,demographics of those who consumed the digital media, and/or the like)may be stored by or for the content creator. The content creator maydictate rules and, in some embodiments, owns the access data, regardlessof whether the access data is in the content creator's own digitaldevice or is within a service such as the content distribution system102 which may store digital content and assist to enable rules of anynumber of content creators.

In various embodiments, the content distribution system 102 may providecentralized control to a content creator. The content creator may createtheir content, store the content in the content distribution system 102,dictate rules regarding their created content (e.g., access, download,purchase, and the like), create or administer user accounts for accessto their created content, and/or receive records of access including allinformation received by the content distribution system 102 in real time(e.g., at the time of login, logout, registration, access, download,third-party access, navigation, identifies of consumers that areconsuming the creator's content, what is being consumed, what bandwidththe content is being consumed, and the like). Third party systems 108Amay utilize widgets or otherwise enable consumers to access and consumethe creator's content from the third-party systems 108A, however, therules created or selected by the content creator controls access to thecreator's media because content and access provided through the contentdistribution system 102.

The third-party system 108A may provide access for any number ofconsumers to consume media of any number of content creators through thecontent distribution system 102. Third-party systems, such as the firstthird-party system 108A, may send a request to the content distributionmodule 212 for a content consumer report requesting a report for contentcreators, which is most popular with people between the ages 18-25. Athird-party system 108A may be, for example, a website or domain that isin communication with the content distribution system 102. There may beany number of third-party systems 108A that communicate with the contentdistribution system 102.

The requested content consumer report may comprise distribution entriesfrom any number of different content creators. In some embodiments, eachof the different content creators may need to give permission to thecontent distribution system 102 before their distribution entries aremade available to the first third-party system 108A. In variousembodiments, content creators may make their distribution entries opento the content distribution system 102. In response to the requestedcontent consumer report, the first third-party system 108A may determinethat the first content creator of the first content creation system 106Ais an acceptable content creator for their purposes. The contentdistribution module 212 may send a request to the sharing module 216 tosend a notification to the first content creation system 106A of theresult of the content consumer report requested by the first third-partysystem 108A.

In some embodiments, the encryption module 214 encrypts digital contentreceived from the content creators of the content creation system 106.Encryption of the digital content may ensure that the received digitalcontent can only be output in the content distribution system 102 orfrom a website that included the embedded code from the contentdistribution system 102. When the content distribution system 102receives a request from the first content creation system 106A to storethe first digital content, the encryption module 214 generates anencryption key to encrypt the first digital content before it is storedin the digital content datastore 220. In some embodiments, a randomnumber is used to generate the encryption key changes over time. Invarious embodiments, a Data Encryption Standard (DES) encryption isused. In one embodiment, an Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)encryption is used to encrypt the digital content.

In some embodiments, the sharing module 216 receives permission andenable content consumers or content creators to share the digitalcontent or review associated with the digital content in an electronicmail (email) or social networking website such as Facebook®, Twitter®.In some embodiments, the sharing module 216 may receive a request from acontent creator to share digital content that has recently been uploadedto the content distribution system 102. Upon the distribution propertiesof the digital content, the sharing module 216 may share the digitalcontent with only specified content consumers of the contentdistribution system 102. In various embodiments, the content creator mayshare another digital content at a date/time that is specified by thecontent creator with specified content consumers of the contentdistribution system 102. Similarly, the sharing module 216 may receive arequest from a particular content creator to share a review associatedwith digital content with other content consumers and/or contentcreators.

It will be appreciated that content consumers may generate reviewsassociated with digital content encrypted and stored in the digitalcontent datastore 220. The content consumer (e.g., consumers of thecreator's content or media) may invite other content consumers or groupsof content consumers to access their reviews associated with the digitalcontent using the sharing module 216. For example, the content consumermay provide user identifiers to invite others to receive or be able toview the content consumer's reviews. The sharing module 216 may retrieveuser address information (e.g., email addresses, chat addresses, instantmessage addresses, or the like) from each content consumer's account. Insome embodiments, the content consumer may provide address informationand other contact information without the sharing module 216 retrievingthe address information.

In some embodiments, the navigational path module 218 tracks thenavigational path any given content consumer or content creator takesfrom a digital origin content to subsequent digital content. A contentconsumer or content creator can navigate to a digital origin content viaa map or search query. For example, a content consumer can navigate map,interact with a location of the map which corresponds to a concertvenue, the content consumer may select an audio clip from one contentcreator of an upcoming concert which will take place at the concertvenue may be provided by the content distribution system 102. After theaudio clip from the digital creator is over, the content distributionsystem 102 may provide audio or songs from the same content creator or asong from another content creator, which is in the same genre as thefirst content creator. The navigational path module 218 may track thepath from the audio clip of the first content creator to songs from thesecond content creator. In other embodiments, navigational path module224 may generate a navigational report documenting all or part of thenavigational path and notify the first digital creator and the seconddigital creator. The report may include navigational statistics over aperiod of time and may be sent to the content creators involvedperiodically.

In some embodiments, the content creator may create rules that dictatethat those users who purchase tickets to a particular concert at aparticular venue can optionally register for an account with the contentcreator through the content distribution system 102. The rules mayfurther dictate that those who navigate to the content distributionsystem 102 (e.g., directly or through a third-party service) may accessand/or download the content creator's content during the concert if theuser is at the venue. If the user is not at the venue or at the venue ata different time, the user (e.g., content consumer) may be denied accessor rights to the content creator's content.

In some embodiments, the digital content datastore 220 may be anystructure and/or structures suitable for storing digital content (e.g.,an active database, a relational database, a self-referential database,a table, a matrix, an array, a flat file, a documented-oriented storagesystem, a non-relational No-SQL system, an FTS-management system such asLucene/Solar, and/or the like). The digital content datastore 220 maystore digital content created or retrieved from different domains,content creators, and/or the like. In some embodiments, digital contentmay be encrypted by the encryption module 214 before being stored in thedistribution datastore 222.

In addition to digital content, digital content properties may also bestored in the digital content datastore 220 to facilitate the retrievalof the digital content. Digital content properties may include domainidentifiers, name of digital content, a geographic location associatedwith the digital content, time digital was loaded into the contentdistribution system, and/or keywords.

Furthermore, reviews associated with digital content may be stored inthe digital content datastore 220. Review properties may also be storedin the digital content datastore 220 to facilitate the retrieval of thereviews. Review properties may include tags, timestamps of the review,user identification of the person who left the review, type of review,and/or others. In some embodiments, reviews may be categorized based onthe type of subscription of the content consumer leaving the review.

In various embodiments, the content creator may dictate rules thatcontrol who may be allowed to provide reviews associated with thecontent creator's content. For example, those that attended a concertduring a particular time and at a particular venue may be enabled toprovide a review of the concert and/or content associated with thecontent creator. Others may be denied the opportunity to provide areview. Alternately or additionally, reviews of those that attended aconcert during a particular time and at a particular venue may belabeled or otherwise categorized as being “favorited,” “premium,” “fan,”“superfan,” or the like while others may be able to leave a review butwithout the preferred status.

It will be appreciated that a concert is only one example and thecontent creator can create rules governing consumption, reviews, etc.based on any kind of content, satisfied demographic, registration, fees(e.g., club fees), amount of content consumed, variety of contentconsumed, amount consumed over a particular period of time, and/or thelike.

In some embodiments, the digital content datastore 220 may store theprofile pages of content creators or content consumers who have beenauthenticated by authentication module 206. In various embodiments, thedigital content datastore 220 may store the profile pages of all usersof the content distribution system 102. In one example, the profile pageof users of the content distribution system is stored in theirrespective domains.

In some embodiments, the distribution datastore 222 may be any structureand/or structures suitable for storing distribution entries or records(e.g., an active database, a relational database, a self-referentialdatabase, a table, a matrix, an array, a flat file, adocumented-oriented storage system, a non-relational No-SQL system, anFTS-management system such as Lucene/Solar, and/or the like). Thedistribution datastore 222 may store distribution entries created orretrieved from different domains, user accounts, and/or the like.

The distribution entries which make up the content consumer report mayinclude content consumer report properties. In some embodiments,distribution entry properties include the domain of the website, whichincludes the embedded code from the content distribution system 102. Invarious embodiments, distribution entry properties include contentconsumer identification, content creator identification, domainidentifier, duration of time the content consumer consumed the digitalcontent, and age and other demographic information of the contentconsumer. The content consumer report properties which are outputted maydepend on the type of user requesting a content consumer report. Forexample, a particular content creator may be given full access todistribution entries regarding the particular content creator, such asdemographic information, regarding any content consumer who accessed thedigital content created by the particular content creator over aparticular time frame. However, the particular content creator may nothave permission to view distribution entries regarding other contentcreators of the content distribution system 102. In some embodiments,third-party systems may be given full access to distribution entriesregarding one or more content creators of the content distributionsystem 102. In various embodiments, third-party systems are given accessto some or all of the distribution entries of one or more contentcreators only after obtaining permission from the one or more contentcreators.

A module may be hardware or software. In some embodiments, the modulemay configure one or more processors to perform functions associatedwith the module. Although different modules are discussed herein, itwill be appreciated that the content distribution system 102 may includeany number of modules performing any or all functionality discussedherein.

In one example, the embedded code on a website of a particular contentcreator may provide a collection of crowd-sourced reviews of digitalcontent created by the particular content creator. These crowd-sourcedreviews may be stored on the website, official fan websites of theparticular content creator, and/or the content distribution system 102.

FIG. 3 depicts a flow chart 300 of a method of uploading digital contentto the content distribution system 102 according to some embodiments. Instep 302, the authentication module 206 receives a login request from afirst content creator to gain access to the content distribution system102. The content creator may be required to provide a user identifierand a password. In some embodiments, the login request may be in theform of biometric identification, such as a fingerprint, retinal scan,or facial recognition to gain access to the content distribution system102.

If the content creator does not have an account with the contentdistribution system 102, the registration module 204 receives a requestto create a user account. In some embodiments, only content creators maybe given permission to send requests to encrypt and store digitalcontent to the digital content datastore 220. Content creators may beauthorized to search or request digital content, create reviewsassociated with digital content stored in the digital content datastore220, and generate consumer content reports. The content consumer may beauthorized to search or request digital content from the digital contentdatastore 220 as well as create reviews associated with digital contentstored in the digital content datastore 220. In some embodiments, thecontent creator may receive a request from one or more third-partysystems to release distribution entries associated with the contentcreator to the third-party systems.

In step 304, the content creator may interact with the user interface ofthe content distribution system 102 and send a request to the digitalcontent datastore 220 to store the first digital content. It will beappreciated the digital content may include any type of digital media,including, but not limited to, pictures, text, video, sound, graphics,icons, interactive programming, or any combination of the above.

In step 306, the digital content datastore 220 receives the one or moredigital content properties of the first digital content. The digitalcontent properties may include the name of the digital content, ageographic location associated with the digital content, time digitalwas loaded into the content distribution system, length of time thedigital content will be available to content consumers, when the digitalcontent is available to the content consumer, subscription of contentconsumers that keywords, hashtags associated with the digital content,and the like. In some embodiments, digital content properties includewhether distribution entries associated with the digital content may beaccessible by other content creators or one or more third-party systems.Distribution entries associated with different digital contentassociated with the same content creators may have differentaccessibility permissions. For example, a particular content creator mayallow one or more third-party systems to access distribution entriesassociated with one digital content, but not distribution entriesassociated with another digital content.

In step 308, the digital content datastore 220 sends a request to theencryption module 214 to encrypt the digital content before it can bestored in the digital content datastore 220. The encryption module 214encrypts the digital content so that it can only be outputted in thecontent distribution system 102 or from a website that included theembedded code from the content distribution system 102. In someembodiments, the encryption module 214 generates an encryption key toencrypt the digital content before it is stored in the digital contentdatastore 220. In some embodiments, a random number is used to generatethe encryption key changes over time. In various embodiments, a DataEncryption Standard (DES) encryption is used. In one embodiment, anAdvanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption is used to encrypt thedigital content.

After the encryption module 214 encrypts the digital content, step 410may proceed. In this step, the digital content datastore 220 stores theencrypted digital content into the digital content datastore 220. Insome embodiments, the digital content properties are also stored in thedigital content datastore 220.

FIG. 4 depicts a flow chart 400 of a method of retrieval of digitalcontent from the content distribution system according to someembodiments. In various embodiments, a first user may attempt to accessthe creator's content from a third-party system 108 such as a web pageor system that communicates with the content distribution system 102.There maybe any number of web pages on any number of servers thatprovide access to the creator's content on the content distributionsystem 102. The user may utilize a digital device to navigate to thethird-party system using a browser or application. The third-partysystem 108 may provide an interface to log in or otherwise receivinginformation that will be shared with the content distribution system102. The third-party system may, in some embodiments, display widgets,applications, or the like within windows that make any interaction thatdepends on communication with the content distribution system 102 appearas if the interaction is occurring with the third-party system 108(e.g., interacting with the ecosystem of the owner or operator of thethird-party system 108). For example, it map appear that theinteraction, information, and content is provided through or enabled bya particular chain of coffee shops.

Access and consumption of the creator's content, however, even ifthrough the third-party system 108, is controlled by the rules createdand dictated by the content creator at the content distribution system102. As such, the content creator creates a unified set of rules at thecontent distribution system 102 that is applied at the contentdistribution system 102 and/or through any number of third-partysystem(s) (e.g., each of the any number of third-party systems may beowned and/or operated by different, unrelated independentthird-parties).

Further, in some embodiments, there may be any number of contentcreators. Different third-party systems may be restricted from accessingcontent of one or more content creators while allowing access to contentof other content creators. For example, a first third-party system 108may enter into a contract with content creators A, B, and C. The firstthird-party system may not enter into a contract with content creator D.Content creators A, B, and C may create rules controlled at least by thecontent distribution system 102 that dictate that when a user requestfor A, B, or C's particular content is received from the firstthird-party system, then the content distribution system 102 and/or thefirst third-party system may proceed with other rules (e.g., loginrequirements or any other kind of requirements before providing therequester access to that content creator's content). Content creator Dmay create a rule that either denies access to user requests for theircontent coming from the first third-party system 108 or does not createa rule allowing access based on user requests for content creator D'scontent coming from the first third-party system 108. As a result, therequest for content creator D's content from the first third-partysystem may be denied.

In various embodiments, a particular consumer may send a general requestfrom a particular third-party system for content. The request mayidentify a type of content. The third-party system may be a member of aparticular domain. The request may identify particular consumer (e.g.,with a consumer identifier) as well as a domain identifier of theparticular domain. The content distribution system 102 may identify thecontent of different content creators that satisfy the type of contentrequested (e.g., through each individual content creator's categorylabels of their content). Any number of content creator's rules mayinclude a list of acceptable domain identifiers. If the domainidentifier associated with the request is a member of the list of domainidentifiers of a content creator's rules, the content distributionsystem 102 may provide the content that meets the requested type ofcontent if the other rules for that particular content creator is met.As such, the content distribution system 102 may provide content fromany number of content creators in response to the request.

For example, content creators may create content for anime while othercontent creators may create content for alternative rock music. Eachcontent creator may create an account with the content distributionsystem 102 and store their content on the content distribution system102. The content creators that create anime content may label theircontent as anime while the content creators that create music may labeltheir content as alternative rock music. If a particular consumernavigates to an alternative rock website or domain and provides arequest for content, the alternative rock website or domain may providethe request to the content distribution system 102. The request mayinclude the consumers identification information (e.g., consumeridentifier) as well as an indication of the alternative rock domain.Based on the domain, the content distribution system 102 may determinewhich creator rules permit content access to that particular domain. Thecontent distribution system 102 may then determine if the requestingconsumer meets the other requirements of each set of rules for eachcontent creator that created alternative rock music stored on thecontent description system 102. If requirements are met, the contentdistribution system 102 may provide content from any number of contentcreators to the requesting consumer. Similarly, if request is receivedfrom an anime website, the content distribution system 102 may determinewhich creator rules permit content access to that particular domain. Thecontent distribution system 102 may then determine if the requestingconsumer meets the other requirements of each set of rules for eachcontent creator that created anime stored on the content descriptionsystem 102. In this way, different content creators can store theircontent in a unified place and create rules to dictate control of theircontent in any way they wish.

In step 402, the authentication module 206 receives a login request froma first user to gain access to the content distribution system 102. Thefirst user may be a content consumer, a content creator, or arepresentative of a third-party system. The first user may be requiredto provide a user identifier and a password. In some embodiments, thelogin request may be in the form of biometric identification, such as afingerprint, retinal scan, or facial recognition to gain access to thecontent distribution system 102. The authentication module 206authenticates the first user's login request.

In various embodiments, the authentication module 206 may receive logininformation and log in users from any digital devices and through anythird-party systems. The authentication module 206 may, for example,provide a unified login for all users, content creators, contentconsumers and the like. Once the user, content creator, or contentconsumer successfully logs in through the authentication module 206, thecontent distribution system 102 may receive a request to search orotherwise access a content creator's content. Based on the request, theaccess control module 210 may then confirm that the user thatsuccessfully logged into the content distribution system 102 has rightsto search or otherwise access the content creator's content (e.g., byretrieving and following the content creator's rules for accessdiscussed herein).

In another example, if a user successfully logs into a particularthird-party system 108, the third-party system 108 may provide the logininformation to the authentication module 206 for confirmation orseparate log in. In this way, a user may log into both the third-partysystem 108 and the content distribution system 102 simultaneously (e.g.,using the single login and the same log in information). Informationidentifying the user, the login, passwords, and the like may be utilizedby the access control module 210 to determine if the user has accessrights to search results or content for any content creator based oneach content creator's rules.

In step 404, the search module 208 receives a request to search fordigital content. The access control module 210 may confirm that therequester has met any rules requirements established or accepted by thecontent creator which governs access or searches of their content.Assuming the requester met requirements, the search module 208 maycreate a search query based on one or more search criteria. The resultof the search query is a search result that may be based, at least inpart, on information provided in the search query. The search module 208searches the digital content datastore 220 for the requested digitalcontent. The search module 208 filter and organize the search resultsaccording to one or more filter criteria, including the digital contentproperties. In some embodiments, the digital content properties mayinclude content, length of digital content, keywords, a geographiclocation associated with the digital content, and the name of thecontent creator associated with the digital content.

In step 406, the search module 208 provides the results of the searchquery in the form of a map, a list, or in some other electronic forms.The user may interact (e.g., click) with one or more elements in thesearch results.

In response to the user interacting with the one or more elements of thesearch results, step 408 may occur, the search module 208 may send arequest to the digital content datastore 220 for a requested digitalcontent. The digital content datastore 220 may send a request to theaccess control module 210 to determine whether or not the user haspermission to access the requested digital content—the determinationbased at least on one distribution property (e.g., a content creator'srules). Distribution properties may include user groups that have accessto a particular digital content, when the particular digital contentwill be made available, and for how long. In various embodiments, thecontent creator determines that only users who have a premium membershipmay access the particular digital content.

It will be appreciated that the access control module 210 may confirmrights of the user based on the request to search for the contentcreator's content, a request to retrieve the content creator's content,or both. In some embodiments, the request may be for content created bymore than one content creator. In this example, the access controlmodule 210 may confirm rights of the user based on the request to searchand/or access each different content creator's content (by retrievingand applying rules for each content creator whose content may beaffected, searched or downloads). If the requester meets therequirements of one or more content creator's rules, then the requestermay receive search results/content related to those particular contentcreators. If the requester does not meet the requirements of one or morecontent creator rules, then the requester may not receive searchresults/content related to those content creators.

When access or search results are denied, the access control module 210may optionally (e.g., may or may not) provide notice of what is denied,why content/results were denied, and/or steps that may be taken foraccess. The notice may be provided to the requester through therequester's digital device, third-party system 108, and/or the like.Similarly, information related to what was consumed, requests received,requests denied, and the like related to a particular content creatormay be stored by the particular content creator in real time.

If the access control module 210 determines that the user has permissionto access the requested digital content, then step 410 may proceed. Ifthe access control module 210 determines that the user does not havepermission to access the requested digital content, the user interfacemay output a notification which informs the user that the user lacks asubscription, and output a subscription interface that allows the userto subscribe to the type of subscription required to allow the user toaccess the requested digital content. In various embodiments, the accesscontrol module 210 may only grant access to users requesting certaindigital content if the users are in a particular geographic location. Ifthe access control module 210 determines that the user does havepermission to access the requested digital content, then the digitalcontent datastore 220 may output the requested digital content to theuser via the communication module 202.

In step 412, the content distribution module 212 creates a distributionentry for the requested digital content. Each distribution entry mayinclude distribution entry properties. Distribution entry propertiesand/or the function of the content distribution module 212 may beseparately controlled by each content creator. Entries may be created bythe content distribution module 212 and stored in that particularcontent creator's storage in real time.

In some embodiments, distribution entry property includes contentconsumer identification, content creator identification, duration oftime the content consumer consumed the digital content, and age andother demographic information of the content consumer. In variousembodiments, the distribution entry properties include a domainidentifier; the domain identifier identifies the website domain the userutilized to access the requested digital content. For example, thecontent distribution system 102 or a widget with similar coding may beembedded into an official fan web page of a particular content creator.When a user accesses another digital content from the contentdistribution system 102 embedded into the official fan web page, thedistribution entry may include the domain of the official fan web page,this information may be used in content consumer reports to determinethe popularity of web sites, web pages, or applications. In someembodiments, the distribution entry properties include digital contentproperties. The distribution entry may be stored in the distributiondatastore 222.

FIG. 5 depicts a method 500 of a content creator retrieving a contentconsumer report according to some embodiments. In step 502, theauthentication module 206 receives a login request from a contentcreator to gain access to the content distribution system 102. The firstcontent creator may be required to provide a user identifier and apassword. In some embodiments, the login request may be in the form ofbiometric identification, such as a fingerprint, retinal scan, or facialrecognition to gain access to the content distribution system 102.

In step 504, the search module 208 receives a search query for a contentconsumer report to create a search query based on one or more searchcriteria. In various embodiments, the content distribution system 102stores all tracked access, logins, content consumer identifiers,timestamps of consumption, third-party systems 108 that providedrequests and/or received content, and the like. The content distributionsystem 102 may store the information related to or that affects thecontent creator's content within a storage (e.g., digital contentdatastore 220 and/or content creator's local digital device) that isdedicated to the particular content creator. In some embodiments, thedigital content datastore 220 may store the information within dedicatedsections, portions, or memory for each content creator (e.g., eachcontent creator may have its own dedicated, private section of storagefor content and/or information stored by the content distribution system102 that affects that particular content creator). If a search requestaffects two or more content creator, the search request, including theperson requesting, time, date, what was requested, and the like, may bestored in each of the affected two or more content creators.

The search criteria include distribution entry properties, whichincludes content consumer identification, content creatoridentification, duration of time the content consumer consumed thedigital content, age, and other demographic information of the contentconsumer. In various embodiments, the distribution entry propertiesinclude a domain identifier. A search result may be based, at least inpart, on information provided in the search query.

In step 506, the search module 208 receives a request to the contentdistribution module 212 to generate the requested content consumerreport. The content distribution module 212 searches distributionentries in the distribution datastore 222 to generate the requestedcontent consumer report. In some embodiments, the content distributionmodule 212 will only search distribution entries associated with digitalcontent created by the content creator. In some embodiments,distribution entries associated with digital content created by othercontent creators of the content distribution system 102 may not beaccessible by the content creator. In various embodiments, distributionentries associated with one or more content creators may be made publicto all content creators authorized by the authentication module 206.

In step 508, the content distribution module 212 outputs the generatedcontent consumer report in the form of a spreadsheet, such as an examplecontent consumer report 800 of FIG. 8. In various embodiments, thecontent distribution module 212 displays the output of the generatedcontent consumer report in the form of a map, of a list, or in otherelectronic forms. The content creator may interact with one or moredistribution entries of the content consumer report to provide furtherdetails of the distribution entries. For example, the content creatormay interact with a first distribution entry to view a profile page of afirst content consumer. The first distribution entry being generatedwhen the first content consumer accessed the first digital content. Insome embodiments, the content distribution module 212 provides areal-time content consumer report in the form of a map, such as a map900 of FIG. 9, or in other forms, to give a particular content creator areal-time view of content consumers accessing digital content created bythe particular content creator.

FIG. 6 depicts a method 600 of a third-party system retrieving a contentconsumer report over multiple content creators according to someembodiments. In step 602, the authentication module 206 receives a loginrequest from a third-party system, such as the first third-party system108A, to gain access to the content distribution system 102.

In step 604, the access control module 210 identifies the distributionentries that a particular third-party system has access to. Third-partysystems may have access to digital content, reviews associated withdigital content, and distribution entries associated with digitalcontent. In an example, a first content creator and a second contentcreator of the content distribution system 102 is required to givepermission to the distribution datastore 222 and make their distributionentries searchable by various third-party systems.

Each content creator may determine accessibility permissions ofdistribution entries associated with different digital content. Forexample, a particular content creator may allow one or more third-partysystems to access distribution entries associated with one digitalcontent, but not distribution entries associated with another digitalcontent.

In step 606, the search module 208 receives a search query for a contentconsumer report to create a search query based on one or more searchcriteria. The search criteria include the distribution properties of thedigital content, name of the content creator, demographic information ofthe content consumer. In various embodiments, the distribution entryproperties include a domain identifier. For example, a marketing teamfor a coffee house may send a request to the search module 208 for areport of a content creator of the content distribution system 102,which is most popular with people between the ages of 25-34 with ahousehold income greater than $50,000.

In step 608, the search module 208 searches distribution entries in thedistribution datastore 222 to generate the requested content consumerreport. In some embodiments, the search module 208 will only searchdistribution entries associated with content creators who have givenpermission to the third-party system to make their distribution entriessearchable. In various embodiments, content creators of the contentdistribution system 102 do not need to give permission to thethird-party system to make their distribution entries searchable.

In step 610, the content distribution module 212 outputs the generatedcontent consumer report in the form of a spreadsheet, such as an examplecontent consumer report. In various embodiments, the contentdistribution module 212 displays the output of the generated contentconsumer report in the form of a map, of a list, or in other electronicforms. The content creator may interact with one or more distributionentries of the content consumer report to provide further details of thedistribution entries.

FIG. 7 depicts a method 700 for identifying distribution entries thatare accessible to a third-party system according to some embodiments. Instep 702, the content distribution system 102 receives, from the firstthird-party system 108A, a search request. In one example, the firstthird-party system 108A may be a marketing firm wanting to search for aninternet video creator with a target audience of women age 18-21. Thecontent distribution system 102 may receive the search parameters anddetermine the subset of distribution entries stored in the contentdistribution system 102 to search for content creators that are popularwith a particular demographic, such as women between the ages of 18 and21. In some embodiments, the content distribution system 102 may need tosend a request to the first content creation system 106A and the secondcontent creation system 106N to allow the first third-party system 108Ato access some or all of the distribution entries associated with thefirst content creation system 106A.

In step 704, the content distribution system 102 may send a request tothe first content creation system 106A to allow the first third-partysystem 108A permission to access some or all of the distribution entriesassociated with the first content creation system 106A. When a contentcreator uploads digital content to the content distribution system 102,the content creator may determine properties of the digital content,such as specifying one or more third-party systems that may have accessto distribution entries associated with digital content uploaded by thecontent creator. In some embodiments, the content creator may specifythat all third-party systems may have access to distribution entriesassociated with digital content uploaded by the content creator. Invarious embodiments, the content creator may specify that distributionentries associated with one digital content may be accessible by onethird-party system, while distribution entries associated with differentdigital content may be accessible by a different third-party system.

If the first content creation system 106A gives the first third-partysystem 108A access to some or all of the distribution entries associatedwith digital content uploaded by the first third-party system 108A, thenmethod 700 proceeds to step 706, the content distribution system 102 mayupdate the distribution entries associated with the first contentcreation system 106A to allow the first third-party system 108A accessto the distribution entries associated with the first content creationsystem 106A.

Similar to step 704, in step 708, the content distribution system 102may send a request to the second content creation system 106N to allowthe first third-party system 108A permission to access some or all ofthe distribution entries associated with the second content creationsystem 106N.

If the first content creation system 106A gives the first third-partysystem 108A access to some or all of the distribution entries associatedwith digital content uploaded by the first third-party system 108A, thenmethod 700 proceeds to step 710, the content distribution system 102 mayupdate the distribution entries associated with the second contentcreation system 106N to allow the first third-party system 108A accessto the distribution entries associated with the second content creationsystem 106N.

In step 712, the search module 208 of the content distribution system102 may perform a searching using the search criteria provided in step702 on the subset of distribution entries, which gives access to thefirst third-party system 108A for searching purposes.

FIG. 10 depicts a block diagram of an example computing device 1000according to some embodiments. Any of the first consumer system 104A,the second consumer system 104N, the content distribution system 102,the first content creation system 106A, the second content creationsystem 106N, the first third-party system 108A, and the secondthird-party system 108N comprise an instance of a computing device 1000.In some embodiments, the computing device 1000 may be a digital device.Computing device 1000 includes processor 1002, RAM 2404, communicationinterface 1006, input/output device 1008, storage 1010, and a system bus1012 that couples various system components, including storage 1010 toprocessor 1002.

System bus 1012 represents one or more of any of several types of busstructures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheralbus, an accelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus usingany of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and notlimitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture(ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA)bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, andPeripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus.

Computing device 1000 typically includes a variety of computer systemreadable media. Such media may be any available media that is accessibleby the computing device 1000 and it includes both volatile andnon-volatile media, removable and non-removable media.

In some embodiments, processor 1002 is configured to execute executableinstructions (e.g., programs). In some embodiments, the processor 1002comprises circuitry or any processor capable of processing theexecutable instructions.

In some embodiments, RAM 1004 stores data. In various embodiments,working data is stored within RAM 1004. The data within RAM 1004 may becleared or ultimately transferred to storage 1010.

In some embodiments, communication interface 1006 is coupled to anetwork via communication interface 1006. Such communication can occurvia Input/Output (I/O) device 1008. Still yet, the computing device 1000may communicate with one or more networks such as a local area network(LAN), a general wide area network (WAN), and/or a public network (e.g.,the Internet).

In some embodiments, I/O device 1008 is any device that inputs data(e.g., mouse, keyboard, stylus) or outputs data (e.g., speaker, display,virtual reality headset).

In some embodiments, storage 1010 can include computer system readablemedia in the form of volatile memory, such as read-only memory (ROM)and/or cache memory. Storage 1010 may further include otherremovable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storagemedia. By way of example only, storage 1010 can be provided for readingfrom and writing to a non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media (notshown and typically called a “hard drive”). Although not shown, amagnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable,non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical diskdrive for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile opticaldisk such as a CDROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided. Insuch instances, each can be connected to system bus 1012 by one or moredata media interfaces. As will be further depicted and described below,storage 1010 may include at least one program product having a set(e.g., at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry outthe functions of embodiments. In some embodiments, RAM 1004 is foundwithin storage 1010.

Program/utility, having a set (at least one) of program modules may bestored in storage 1010 by way of example, and not limitation, as well asan operating system, one or more application programs, other programmodules, and program data. Each of the operating system, one or moreapplication programs, other program modules, and program data or somecombination thereof, may include an implementation of a networkingenvironment. Program modules generally carry out the functions and/ormethodologies of embodiments, as described herein. A module may behardware (e.g., ASIC, circuitry, and/or the like), software, or acombination of both.

It should be understood that although not shown, other hardware and/orsoftware components could be used in conjunction with the computingdevice 1000. Examples include, but are not limited to: microcode, devicedrivers, redundant processing units, and external disk drive arrays,RAID systems, tape drives, and data archival storage systems, etc.

Exemplary embodiments are described herein in detail with reference tothe accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure can beimplemented in various manners, and thus should not be construed to belimited to the embodiments disclosed herein. On the contrary, thoseembodiments are provided for the thorough and complete understanding ofthe present disclosure, and completely conveying the scope of thepresent disclosure to those skilled in the art.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of one or moreembodiments may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects may take the form of an entirely hardwareembodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware,resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining softwareand hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a“circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects may take the formof a computer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband/or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Aspects of some of the embodiments are described herein with referenceto flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments. Itwill be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/orblock diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computerprogram instructions. These computer program instructions may beprovided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purposecomputer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce amachine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor ofthe computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, createmeans for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchartand/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in anon-transitory computer readable medium that can direct a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices tofunction in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored inthe computer readable medium produce an article of manufacture includinginstructions which implement the function/act specified in the flowchartand/or block diagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

Throughout this specification, plural instances may implementcomponents, operations, or structures described as a single instance.Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustratedand described as separate operations, one or more of the individualoperations may be performed concurrently, and nothing requires that theoperations be performed in the order illustrated. Structures andfunctionality presented as separate components in example configurationsmay be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly,structures and functionality presented as a single component may beimplemented as separate components. These and other variations,modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of thesubject matter herein.

It may be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications may be made and other embodiments may be used withoutdeparting from the broader scope of the discussion herein. Therefore,these and other variations upon the example embodiments are intended tobe covered by the disclosure herein.

1. A method comprising: receiving, by a content distribution system, afirst request to store first creator content generated by a firstcontent creator of a plurality of content creators, the first request tostore the first creator content including a first content creatoridentifier, and one or more first categorical identifiers associatedwith the first content creator content; storing by the contentdistribution system the first creator content within a data store;receiving by the content distribution system first rules by the firstcontent creator that govern access to the first creator content, thefirst rules including a requirement that for any particular consumer tohave access to the first creator content, that particular consumer mustbe a member of a first content creator group, must have paid a fee to bea member of the first content creator group, and be within a firstparticular geographic area, the first rules further allowing access tothe first creator content to requests for content provided by a firstsubset of third-party systems if all the other first rules are met bythe requester, the first subset of third-party systems be independent ofand remote from each other; receiving by the content distribution systema second request to store second creator content generated by a secondcontent creator of the plurality of content creators, the second requestto store second first creator content including a second content creatoridentifier, and one or more second categorical identifiers associatedwith the second content creator content; storing by the contentdistribution system the second creator content within the data store;receiving by the content distribution system second rules by the secondcontent creator that govern access to the second creator content, thesecond rules including a requirement that for any particular consumer tohave access to the second creator content, that particular consumer mustbe a member of a second content creator group, and be within a secondparticular geographic area, the second rules not including a paymentrequirement, the second rules further allowing access to the secondcreator content to request for content provided by a second subset ofthird-party systems if all the other second rules are met by therequester, the second subset of third-party systems be independent ofand remote from each other, the first subset of third-party systems andthe second subset of third-party systems being different from eachother; receiving by the content distribution system a first identifierfrom a first third-party system from a first user and a first requestfor first creator content from the first user; confirming by the contentdistribution system that the first third-party system is a member of thefirst subset of third-party systems; if the first third-party system isnot a member of the first subset of third-party systems, sending, by thecontent distribution system, a denial of the first request; if the firstthird-party system is a member of the first subset of third-partysystems, determining, by the content distribution system, from the firstrequest if the first user meets requirements of the first rulesincluding that the first user, based on the first identifier, is amember of the first content creator group, paid the fee to be a memberof the first content creator group, and is within the first particulargeographic area; if the first user meets the requirements of the firstrules, providing, by the content distribution system, the first creatorcontent requested by the first request to the first user through thefirst third-party system; receiving by the content distribution system asecond identifier from a second third-party system from a second userand a second request for second creator content from the second user;confirming by the content distribution system that the secondthird-party system is a member of the second subset of third-partysystems; if the second third-party system is not a member of the secondsubset of third-party systems, sending, by the content distributionsystem, a denial of the second request; if the second third-party systemis a member of the second subset of third-party systems, determining, bythe content distribution system, from the second request if the seconduser meets requirements of the second rules including that second firstuser, based on the second identifier, is a member of the second contentcreator group and is within the second particular geographic area; andif the second user meets the requirements of the first rules, providing,by the content distribution system, the second creator content requestedby the second request to the second user through the second third-partysystem.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first rules allowingaccess to the first creator content to requests for content provided bythe first subset of third-party systems comprises the first rulesallowing access to the first creator content to requests for contentprovided by a first domain, and wherein confirming by the contentdistribution system that the first third-party system is a member of thefirst subset of third-party systems comprises confirming that the firstthird-party system is a member of the first domain and if the firstthird-party system is not a member of the first domain, sending, by thecontent distribution system to the first third-party system, a denial ofthe first request.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the firstparticular geographic area is a country.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the first particular geographic area is a venue.
 5. The methodof claim 1, wherein the first rules further require a time frame whenthe first user must provide the first request to obtain access for thefirst creator content.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first rulesfurther comprise a particular requirement that the first user mustprovide the first request from a particular venue during a particulartime frame for access to a subset of first creator content, the subsetof the first creator content otherwise not being available to otherconsumers that cannot meet the particular requirement.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: receiving by the content distributionsystem the second identifier from a third third-party system from thesecond user and a third request for first creator content from thesecond user; confirming by the content distribution system that thethird third-party system is a member of the first subset of third-partysystems; if the third third-party system is not a member of the firstsubset of third-party systems, sending, by the content distributionsystem, a denial of the third request; if the third third-party systemis a member of the first subset of third-party systems, determining, bythe content distribution system, from the third request if the seconduser meets requirements of the first rules including that the thirduser, based on the third identifier, is a member of the first contentcreator group, paid the fee to be a member of the first content creatorgroup, and is within the first particular geographic area; and if thesecond user meets the requirements of the first rules, providing, by thecontent distribution system, the first creator content requested by thethird request to the second user through the third third-party system.8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving by the contentdistribution system the second identifier from a third third-partysystem from the second user and a third request for general content fromthe second user; confirming by the content distribution system that thethird third-party system is a member of the first subset of third-partysystems and the second subset of third-party systems; determining thatthe second user meets the requirements of the second rules and not thefirst rules; and providing access to the second creator content.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: receiving by the contentdistribution system the second identifier from a third third-partysystem from the second user and a third request for general content fromthe second user; confirming by the content distribution system that thethird third-party system is a member of the first subset of third-partysystems and the second subset of third-party systems; determining thatthe second user meets the requirements of the second rules and the firstrules; and providing access to the first creator content and the secondcreator content.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein determining if thefirst user is within the first particular geographic area comprisesdetermining if the first third-party system is within the firstparticular geographic area, based, at least in part, on a firstthird-party system identifier.
 11. The method of claim 1, whereindetermining if the first user is within the first particular geographicarea comprises determining if the first third-party system is within thefirst particular geographic area, based, at least in part, on GPSinformation from a digital device of the first user.
 12. Anon-transitory computer readable medium comprising executableinstructions, the executable instructions being executable by aprocessor for performing a method, the method comprising: receiving, bya content distribution system, a first request to store first creatorcontent generated by a first content creator of a plurality of contentcreators, the first request to store the first creator content includinga first content creator identifier, and one or more first categoricalidentifiers associated with the first content creator content; storingby the content distribution system the first creator content within adata store; receiving by the content distribution system first rules bythe first content creator that govern access to the first creatorcontent, the first rules including a requirement that for any particularconsumer to have access to the first creator content, that particularconsumer must be a member of a first content creator group, must havepaid a fee to be a member of the first content creator group, and bewithin a first particular geographic area, the first rules furtherallowing access to the first creator content to requests for contentprovided by a first subset of third-party systems if all the other firstrules are met by the requester, the first subset of third-party systemsbe independent of and remote from each other; receiving by the contentdistribution system a second request to store second creator contentgenerated by a second content creator of the plurality of contentcreators, the second request to store second first creator contentincluding a second content creator identifier, and one or more secondcategorical identifiers associated with the second content creatorcontent; storing by the content distribution system the second creatorcontent within the data store; receiving by the content distributionsystem second rules by the second content creator that govern access tothe second creator content, the second rules including a requirementthat for any particular consumer to have access to the second creatorcontent, that particular consumer must be a member of a second contentcreator group, and be within a second particular geographic area, thesecond rules not including a payment requirement, the second rulesfurther allowing access to the second creator content to request forcontent provided by a second subset of third-party systems if all theother second rules are met by the requester, the second subset ofthird-party systems be independent of and remote from each other, thefirst subset of third-party systems and the second subset of third-partysystems being different from each other; receiving by the contentdistribution system a first identifier from a first third-party systemfrom a first user and a first request for first creator content from thefirst user; confirming by the content distribution system that the firstthird-party system is a member of the first subset of third-partysystems; if the first third-party system is not a member of the firstsubset of third-party systems, sending, by the content distributionsystem, a denial of the first request; if the first third-party systemis a member of the first subset of third-party systems, determining, bythe content distribution system, from the first request if the firstuser meets requirements of the first rules including that the firstuser, based on the first identifier, is a member of the first contentcreator group, paid the fee to be a member of the first content creatorgroup, and is within the first particular geographic area; if the firstuser meets the requirements of the first rules, providing, by thecontent distribution system, the first creator content requested by thefirst request to the first user through the first third-party system;receiving by the content distribution system a second identifier from asecond third-party system from a second user and a second request forsecond creator content from the second user; confirming by the contentdistribution system that the second third-party system is a member ofthe second subset of third-party systems; if the second third-partysystem is not a member of the second subset of third-party systems,sending, by the content distribution system, a denial of the secondrequest; if the second third-party system is a member of the secondsubset of third-party systems, determining, by the content distributionsystem, from the second request if the second user meets requirements ofthe second rules including that second first user, based on the secondidentifier, is a member of the second content creator group and iswithin the second particular geographic area; and if the second usermeets the requirements of the first rules, providing, by the contentdistribution system, the second creator content requested by the secondrequest to the second user through the second third-party system. 13.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein thefirst rules allowing access to the first creator content to requests forcontent provided by the first subset of third-party systems comprisesthe first rules allowing access to the first creator content to requestsfor content provided by a first domain, and wherein confirming by thecontent distribution system that the first third-party system is amember of the first subset of third-party systems comprises confirmingthat the first third-party system is a member of the first domain and ifthe first third-party system is not a member of the first domain,sending, by the content distribution system to the first third-partysystem, a denial of the first request.
 14. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 12, wherein the first particular geographicarea is a country.
 15. The non-transitory computer readable medium ofclaim 12, wherein the first particular geographic area is a venue. 16.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein thefirst rules further require a time frame when the first user mustprovide the first request to obtain access for the first creatorcontent.
 17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12,wherein the first rules further comprise a particular requirement thatthe first user must provide the first request from a particular venueduring a particular time frame for access to a subset of first creatorcontent, the subset of the first creator content otherwise not beingavailable to other consumers that cannot meet the particularrequirement.
 18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim12, the method further comprising: receiving by the content distributionsystem the second identifier from a third third-party system from thesecond user and a third request for first creator content from thesecond user; confirming by the content distribution system that thethird third-party system is a member of the first subset of third-partysystems; if the third third-party system is not a member of the firstsubset of third-party systems, sending, by the content distributionsystem, a denial of the third request; if the third third-party systemis a member of the first subset of third-party systems, determining, bythe content distribution system, from the third request if the seconduser meets requirements of the first rules including that the thirduser, based on the third identifier, is a member of the first contentcreator group, paid the fee to be a member of the first content creatorgroup, and is within the first particular geographic area; and if thesecond user meets the requirements of the first rules, providing, by thecontent distribution system, the first creator content requested by thethird request to the second user through the third third-party system.19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, the methodfurther comprising: receiving by the content distribution system thesecond identifier from a third third-party system from the second userand a third request for general content from the second user; confirmingby the content distribution system that the third third-party system isa member of the first subset of third-party systems and the secondsubset of third-party systems; determining that the second user meetsthe requirements of the second rules and not the first rules; andproviding access to the second creator content.
 20. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 12, the method further comprising:receiving by the content distribution system the second identifier froma third third-party system from the second user and a third request forgeneral content from the second user; confirming by the contentdistribution system that the third third-party system is a member of thefirst subset of third-party systems and the second subset of third-partysystems; determining that the second user meets the requirements of thesecond rules and the first rules; and providing access to the firstcreator content and the second creator content.
 21. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 12, wherein determining if the firstuser is within the first particular geographic area comprisesdetermining if the first third-party system is within the firstparticular geographic area, based, at least in part, on a firstthird-party system identifier.
 22. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 12, wherein determining if the first user is within thefirst particular geographic area comprises determining if the firstthird-party system is within the first particular geographic area,based, at least in part, on GPS information from a digital device of thefirst user.
 23. A system comprising: one or more processors; and memory,the memory including instructions to configure the one or moreprocessors to: receive a first request to store first creator contentgenerated by a first content creator of a plurality of content creators,the first request to store the first creator content including a firstcontent creator identifier, and one or more first categoricalidentifiers associated with the first content creator content; store thefirst creator content within a data store; receive first rules by thefirst content creator that govern access to the first creator content,the first rules including a requirement that for any particular consumerto have access to the first creator content, that particular consumermust be a member of a first content creator group, must have paid a feeto be a member of the first content creator group, and be within a firstparticular geographic area, the first rules further allowing access tothe first creator content to requests for content provided by a firstsubset of third-party systems if all the other first rules are met bythe requester, the first subset of third-party systems be independent ofand remote from each other; receive a second request to store secondcreator content generated by a second content creator of the pluralityof content creators, the second request to store second first creatorcontent including a second content creator identifier, and one or moresecond categorical identifiers associated with the second contentcreator content; store the second creator content within the data store;receive second rules by the second content creator that govern access tothe second creator content, the second rules including a requirementthat for any particular consumer to have access to the second creatorcontent, that particular consumer must be a member of a second contentcreator group, and be within a second particular geographic area, thesecond rules not including a payment requirement, the second rulesfurther allowing access to the second creator content to request forcontent provided by a second subset of third-party systems if all theother second rules are met by the requester, the second subset ofthird-party systems be independent of and remote from each other, thefirst subset of third-party systems and the second subset of third-partysystems being different from each other; receive a first identifier froma first third-party system from a first user and a first request forfirst creator content from the first user; confirm that the firstthird-party system is a member of the first subset of third-partysystems; if the first third-party system is not a member of the firstsubset of third-party systems, send a denial of the first request; ifthe first third-party system is a member of the first subset ofthird-party systems, determine from the first request if the first usermeets requirements of the first rules including that the first user,based on the first identifier, is a member of the first content creatorgroup, paid the fee to be a member of the first content creator group,and is within the first particular geographic area; if the first usermeets the requirements of the first rules, provide the first creatorcontent requested by the first request to the first user through thefirst third-party system; receive a second identifier from a secondthird-party system from a second user and a second request for secondcreator content from the second user; confirm that the secondthird-party system is a member of the second subset of third-partysystems; if the second third-party system is not a member of the secondsubset of third-party systems, send a denial of the second request; ifthe second third-party system is a member of the second subset ofthird-party systems, determine from the second request if the seconduser meets requirements of the second rules including that second firstuser, based on the second identifier, is a member of the second contentcreator group and is within the second particular geographic area; andif the second user meets the requirements of the first rules, providethe second creator content requested by the second request to the seconduser through the second third-party system.